Gathering of Evil
by eagleye145
Summary: ﻿Rated for language. When Shippou disappears, everything goes from bad to worse! Evil has a field day trying to destroy InuYasha and the gang. A new ally appears to help, but can she be trusted? PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU WANT ME TO WRITE MORE!


**Gathering of Evil**

This is my first InuYasha fan fiction worth posting, so _please_ take it easy, it does get better as the plot progresses.

I DO NOT own InuYasha! I do, however, own the rights to any characters of my own design I introduce later on!

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"Help!" The child-like cry pierced the quiet morning air, sending the drowsy birds into the sky in a panic. On the ground, animals ran for cover, knowing a cry that painful and panicked could only mean trouble. And in a nearby village, a teenaged girl with raven-black hair bolted upright from the mat her sleeping figure had occupied only moments before. Quickly, she scanned the startled bodies of her friends for the small demon that normally slept beside her. He wasn't there. "Shippou!" she shrieked as she frantically searched for the small kitsune, praying to the Gods that the young fox demon had simply moved to sleep next to one of her other friends. The others -- hearing her panic stricken voice -- joined in the search of the small hut. Shippou was nowhere to be found. As she turned to the door, Kagome caught a glimpse of white fur. Miroku and InuYasha shot each other a knowing look. They could both sense the presence of the they had vowed to kill. They could both sense the presence of Naraku.

Naraku. The mention of that name sent the young demon's fur on ends. As he recalled the events of that morning, tears began to well up in his eyes and he wished he had never left the warmth his little spot beside Kagome, in the safety of Kaede's hut. "Why did I leave?" he thought to himself. As far as he could remember, he had been awakened just before dawn by rustling sound, outside of the hut. He now realized that InuYasha, with his heightened sense of smell and sensitive ears, had not stirred when the creature came. Even though he was still half asleep, it took the young kitsune only moments to recognize the figure in the door. It was his father! "Father died before I met InuYasha and Kagome...I'm such an idiot!" he thought, kicking at a stone. He missed, and his foot came in contact with his captor, a large, drowsy, short-tempered demonic snake. "Aurrgh! Ya sstupid little brat!" the creature sneered, his tongue darting out every time he used an 's', making his voice his as he spoke, "You did that on purposse you pathetic excusse for a demon!" Shippou was in no mood to take any insults, realizing the stupid mistakes he had made already, and knowing what InuYasha would be like after this was over. "You take that back, you overgrown belly-dragger!" he retorted.

The demon snake was surprised at the bravery of his young captive. To him, this little one looked to young to want to leave the safety and comfort of a family member. The serpent chuckled silently to himself, as he thought about how he had caught the infant creature. Not two days previous, a half-demon disguised in a baboon suit had came to him, and offered him a shard of the Shikon-no-Tama. The reptile greatly accepted it, knowing it would make him more powerful. And it had.

The snake had the ability to make humans and demons see what they wanted to see, which led them to where his hungry belly was. When the victim was to close to escape, the image vanished and they were devoured. The image, however, was just that, an image. There was no sound to it, which made it hard for him to capture anything but small children. Any adult, or mature child for that matter, knew that if a creature was able to run through the forest without making a sound, then there was something very wrong. This jewel shard had allowed him to create sounds to accompany the images he used to lure his prey. He had used these powers to lure to child away from the group without rousing any of the others. Another plus of the shard; he could now control who saw and heard the 'creature' of his creation.

A sudden movement brought the reptilian hunter back to attention. He wrapped the tail end of his body around the terrified kitsune, destroying his hasty escape attempt. "Where do you think your going?" the creature asked in a tone that dared him to answer. "No one esscapess me!" The monster squeeze the poor demon until the child was gasping for air. Perhapss I should jusst kill you now and end your missery." "Enough! You can eat the child when, and only when, I say." Naraku said, as he emerged from the forest. "Lord Naraku," the serpent replied, distaste dripping from every word like a poisonous dagger, "pleasse, go over your plan with me oncce more." Shippou, weakened by lack of oxygen and exhaustion, fell into a deep and dreamless sleep, while his captors outlined their plan. "As soon as those worried idiots enter the clearing, everyone, with the exception of that _mutt_ InuYasha, is edible. Make their deaths slow and agonizing. I want InuYasha to hear them scream in pain -- begging for their lives to be ended -- and know that he was unable to save them." "What about the monk, he hass that wind tunnel in hiss hand. I don't want to end up being destroyed by a mortal." "As long as you have the child, neither he, nor the huntress, will attack. They care to much about the child to risk him being injured." "And that other girl? The one with the arrowss? What about her?" "The girl is weak, it will be easy to lead her astray. Leave her alive until the end though, the mutt is in love with her, so I want her death to be the most excruciatingly painful death you can make it. She must die as Kikyo did, believing that InuYasha has betrayed her!" "Asss you wish."

"Kagome, stop it, you're going to put a hole in the floor," Sango said, trying her best to hide the distress in her voice. "What I want to know is, why the hell did the runt take off on his own like that?" InuYasha asked. He would never admit it, but he was worried about the little brat. "I say we follow Shippou's trail and find him...FAST!" Miroku stated. Neither he, nor InuYasha, had told the girls of Naraku's presence that morning. Kaede, who had sat quietly for the past hour, now spoke, "Ye must proceed with caution. I fear the Shippou may be bait for a trap meant for ye all." "But Kaede, who would go through the trouble of kidnaping Shippou if they wanted us dead?" "Can ye think of no one?" Kagome's face paled considerably when she realized who Kaede was referring to. Continuing, Kaede said, "Ye must all be careful when attempting this rescue!"

Shippou awoke from a long and deep sleep, and turned his head to the side, expecting to see Kagome, or InuYasha, or one of his other comrades. Instead, the kitsune was met with the menacing smile of Naraku. The sudden memories of the past few hours rushed back into his mind, making him queasy; waking up, seeing his father, following him into the forest, his father disappearing, the snake, Naraku. Shippou lay there, frozen with fear. "Your friends will be here soon, and then it's bye-bye demon kit!" Shippou was terrified, but determined to hide it. He knew that the others would come for him, but he also knew that InuYasha – or even Miroku for that matter – could lose it and try to kill Naraku. When would they ever have a better opportunity? Shippou sighed as he realized that, because he was stupid enough to act without thinking, he was probably going to die by the end of the battle. "Well," he thought, "at least I'll go out fighting." A sudden snapping sound brought the captors and their prey to attention. Shippou's heart beat uncontrollably. "Here we go!"

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Love it so far? Good...THEN REPLY! It may take a bit to get the next chapter up, but be patient, school is over in about a month! TTYL! ; ) 


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